Dolly Parton Calls Cornbread Sage Dressing ‘The One Thing’ She Looks Forward To for Holiday Dinners (EXCLUSIVE)
This recipe comes from an official Dollywood cookbook and is full of comforting deliciousness!
When it comes to Christmas, our cover star Dolly Parton has several tried-and-true traditions that get her into the holiday spirit. One of these traditions includes preparing her family’s cornbread sage dressing recipe for Christmas dinner. This dressing uses a mixture of cornbread and white bread for a sweet flavor that balances the earthy dried sage and other seasonings. The recipe was originally published in one of the Dollywood cookbooks, but we found the recipe online and it’s simple to recreate. Plus, Dolly shares with us some dishes that she loves enjoying with this hearty dressing. Read on to learn more about this cornbread dressing recipe that’s worth including in your holiday feast!
A look at Dolly’s Christmas dinner spread
In our exclusive interview with Dolly, she was very clear about the dish that has to grace her holiday dinner table every year. “Cornbread sage dressing! That’s one thing I look forward to at Thanksgiving and then I have to have that again at Christmas, no matter what else we serve,” she says. Although the terms “stuffing” and “dressing” are used interchangeably, many agree that stuffing refers to when the bread mixture cooks inside of a turkey, while dressing is cooked in a separate dish. (We’ll give dressing the advantage here since cooking it in a dish prevents cross-contamination and allows for even cooking and browning.)
This dressing may be the star of Dolly and her family’s Christmas feast but she doesn’t shy away from showing love to the other sides. “And you’ve got to have mashed potatoes and gravy, giblet gravy… And of course, cranberries. We have cranberries or the cranberry mold,” she adds. Anyone else getting hungry?
How to make Dolly Parton’s cornbread sage dressing recipe
In the late 1980, Dollywood released the Dollywood Presents Tennessee Mountain Home Cooking—which featured their signature recipes, including cornbread sage dressing. The original recipe is available to view on internetarchive.org, and calls for forming the dressing into patties or balls before baking.
Though, blogger Journey with the Kellers showcases her experience trying this recipe and cooking it a single baking dish for easier prep. (Check out this stuffing waffle sandwich recipe for tips on turning this side into a fun treat the next day.)
Cornbread Sage Dressing
Ingredients:
- 8 cups crumbled cornbread
- 4 cups crumbled white bread
- 6 cups chicken or turkey broth
- 2 cups chopped celery
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 3½ tsp. black pepper
- 1½ to 2 tsp. dried sage
- ½ tsp. poultry seasoning
- ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
- Oil or melted butter, for greasing baking dish
Directions:
- Yield: 8 to 10 servings
- Dry out cornbread and white bread by laying them out on 1 to 2 baking sheets at room temperature overnight. Transfer stale breads to large bowl.
- Add black pepper, dried sage, poultry seasoning and cayenne pepper to bread and toss until bread is coated in seasonings. Let bread sit for a few hours uncovered.
- Pour chopped celery, beaten eggs and chicken or turkey broth to seasoned bread. Mix well with a spoon to combine all ingredients. Allow mixture to sit while you grease pan and preheat oven.
- Preheat oven to 400°F to 450°F. Generously grease large baking dish with oil or melted butter. Pour cornbread dressing mixture into dish.
- Bake 30 minutes or until top is golden brown and center is set. (Note: Cover with foil if dressing is browning too quickly.) Remove from oven and cool until slightly warm. Serve with your holiday feast!
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